Synopses & Reviews
The centerpiece of a major national campaign to indentify and preserve forgotten history,
Here Is Where is acclaimed historian Andrew Carroll’s fascinating journey of discovery in which he travels to each of America’s fifty states and explores locations where remarkable individuals once lived or where the incredible or momentous occurred.
Sparking the idea for this book was Carroll’s visit to the spot where Abraham Lincoln’s son was once saved by the brother of Lincoln’s assassin. Carroll wondered, How many other unmarked places are there where intriguing events unfolded — or where extraordinary men and women made their mark? And then it came to him: the idea of spotlighting great hidden history by traveling the length and breadth of the United States, searching for buried historical treasure.
In Here Is Where, Carroll drives, flies, boats, hikes, kayaks and trains into the past, and in so doing, uncovers stories that inspire thoughtful contemplation, occasional hilarity and often, awe. Among the things we learn:
- Where the oldest sample of DNA in North America was discovered
- Which obscure American scientist saved 400 million lives
- Which famous FBI agent was the brother of a notorious gangster
- Which cemetery contains one million graves — but only one marked
- How a 14 year old boy invented television
Featured prominently in Here Is Where are an abundance of firsts (including the first elevator, the first modern anesthesia, the first cremation, and the first murder conviction based on forensic evidence), outrages (from massacres, to forced sterilizations, to kidnappings) and breakthroughs (from the invention of the M-1 carbine to the recovery of the last existing sample of Spanish Flu to the building of the rocket that made possible space travel).
A profound reminder that the ground we walk is often the top sedimentary layer of amazing past events, Here Is Where represents just the first step in an ongoing project that will recruit citizen historians to preserve what should be remembered.
Review
“Carroll takes readers on an eye-opening and entertaining grand tour of America in this lively exploration of lesser-known or overlooked historical sites. From birthplaces to gravesites and high points to low, from those that inspired inventions to those that sparked change, he leaves no stone unturned or landmark unvisited….Part travelogue, part history, this book should be required reading for anyone interested in America’s past.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Review
"Andrew Carroll has always been a top-notch editor. I had no idea he was as fine a storyteller. Great storytelling can be wonderfully addictive. Here Is Where captured me completely — I couldn't put it down." Jeff Shaara, New York Times bestselling author of Gods and Generals, Last Full Measure and Blaze of Glory
Review
“Here is Where is remarkable for the painstaking research on display and its yield of rescued-from-obscurity stories. Many of the true incidents Andrew Carroll has uncovered aren’t just surprising but powerful. Others are simply laugh-out-loud funny, but all are described with considerable skill. America has always had among its citizenry a number of individuals whose legacy is immense but unappreciated, and Carroll has truly done them justice.” Steven Pressfield, bestselling author of Gates of Fire, Tides of War and Killing Rommel
Review
"Impressive...Carroll has discovered a way of doing history that, once you see it, seems so obvious, indeed right under your nose or feet. But to the best of my knowledge, no one has done this before." Joseph J. Ellis, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Revolutionary Summer and Founding Brothers
Review
“Both a fascinating excavation of under-appreciated events and agents and a compelling analysis of what binds us together, Here Is Where makes for rich and vivid reading. It seems to me that Andrew Carroll has become the Charles Kuralt of American history.”Les Standiford, author of Desperate Sons and Last Train to Paradise
Synopsis
In the spring and summer of 2009, determined to identify the most fascinating forgotten-history sites in America's 50 states, Carroll embarked on an odyssey that would require him to boat, bike, train, helicopter, and kayak into the past.
Synopsis
The centerpiece of a major national campaign by bestselling historian Andrew Carroll to seek out and promote unmarked historic sites, this book is a fascinating cross-country tour of forgotten spots that are connected to momentous events and remarkable individuals.
Andrew Carroll, who is best known for massive, newsmaking cultural initiatives such as the American Poetry and Literacy Project (which has given away over a million poetry books to the public) and the Legacy Project (an unprecedented effort to preserve letters from every U.S. war) is also the author of the bestselling multimedia sensation War Letters. The genesis of Here Is Where was Carroll's discovery of a remarkable story about Edwin Booth — brother of John Wilkes Booth — saving the life of Abraham Lincoln's son. Carroll located the site of the Booth-Lincoln encounter and began compulsively identifying other unmarked historic places throughout America. Here is Where recounts his initial journey which required him to drive, fly, boat, bike, hike, kayak and train across the country — and into America's great forgotten past. Even readers who don't consider themselves history buffs will be amazed by the hidden history Carroll uncovered.
Synopsis
Here Is Where chronicles Andrew Carroll’s eye-opening — and at times hilarious — journey across America to find and explore unmarked historic sites where extraordinary moments occurred and remarkable individuals once lived. Sparking the idea for this book was Carroll’s visit to the spot where Abraham Lincoln’s son was saved by the brother of Lincoln’s assassin. Carroll wondered,
How many other unmarked places are there where intriguing events have unfolded and that we walk past every day, not realizing their significance? To answer that question, Carroll ultimately trekked to every region of the country — by car, train, plane, helicopter, bus, bike, and kayak and on foot. Among the things he learned:
- Where in North America the oldest sample of human DNA was discovered
- Where America’s deadliest maritime disaster took place, a calamity worse than the fate of the Titanic
- Which virtually unknown American scientist saved hundreds of millions of lives
- Which famous Prohibition agent was the brother of a notorious gangster
- How a 14-year-old farm boy’s brainstorm led to the creation of television
Featured prominently in Here Is Where are an abundance of firsts (from the first use of modern anesthesia to the first cremation to the first murder conviction based on forensic evidence); outrages (from riots to massacres to forced sterilizations); and breakthroughs (from the invention, inside a prison, of a revolutionary weapon; to the recovery, deep in the Alaskan tundra, of a super-virus; to the building of the rocket that made possible space travel). Here Is Where is thoroughly entertaining, but it’s also a profound reminder that the places we pass by often harbor amazing secrets and that there are countless other astonishing stories still out there, waiting to be found.
About the Author
ANDREW CARROLL is best known for creating the Legacy Project, which archives wartime correspondence, and War Letters, which sold more than 300,000 copies and inspired an acclaimed PBS documentary. Other New York Times bestsellers include Letters of a Nation and Behind the Lines. Carroll’s Operation Homecoming inspired an Emmy-winning documentary. He lives in Washington, D.C.